The folks who write the tech hype actually believe it. Most of them just live for the opportunity to try the latest gadget--and show it to their friends. After all, the latest gadget must mean you're cool. That's what the ads and sites say. Ugh.

I'd rather just find stuff that doesn't break and does what it says it will do.

I've had my phone reboot at the most inopportune times. My phone! Come on!

It also seems that every manual and help file for tech expects that the reader can't figure out the simple stuff--but doesn't bother to explain what to do when something bad actually happens. Like the gadget doesn't ever break. Riiiiiiight.

So, I spend a fair amount of my time figuring out how to deal with stuff when it breaks. How to get users back running as quickly as possible. And finding technology that does what it's supposed to do.

One of the disappointments for me lately has been PalmOS. Historically a bastion of simplicity to the point of being touted by David Allen as a simple and straight-forward way to get things done, the latest versions of PalmOS-based PDA--especially those that are phones like the various Treos--are becoming notoriously unreliable. Not as bad as some other PDAs (some of which are absolutely awful!), but not as good as they should be. Any phone should work at any time, even if the other parts of the phone fail. There are some who say that this is impossible, but that is because they don't think this way. Make the phone work. Then add the other stuff onto it.

This is typical, of course, of the rush for features that have overshadowed the tech industry for years. But, that's a topic for another time.